Juneau's firefighters union warns of delays due to ongoing staffing shortage

Capital City Fire/Rescue officials respond to a trailer fire in June 2023. (Photo by Clarise Larson/KTOO)

https://www.ktoo.org/2025/04/25/juneaus-firefighters-union-warns-of-delays-due-to-ongoing-staffing-shortage/

Juneau’s firefighters union sent out a statement Thursday warning residents that emergency response times may be delayed due to major staffing concerns.

Logan Balstad is the local Juneau Career Firefighters union president. He said this is the most understaffed Capital City Fire Rescue has been in his more than a decade with the department.

“We’re expecting that there will be more calls where you have to wait for a piece of apparatus to respond to your emergency because it’s tied up doing something else,” he said.

This warning comes as the union negotiates wages with the City and Borough of Juneau. According to wage information KTOO received earlier this year before negotiations started, some positions start at $20 per hour. That’s lower than the pay for most similar positions in the Pacific Northwest.

FULL story at link above.